Immediately after taking oath as President in November 2019, Gotabaya Rajapaksa promised “equality of all Sri Lankans”, but with the rider of “emphasis on Sinhala interests”! If indeed Sinhala interests would be specifically taken care of, how can the spirit of equality survive?
Hindi-promoters also follow the same tactics smacking of blatant hypocrisy. So passionate exhortations to Indians to pursue their mother tongues; but people are urged to use and accept Hindi as well. Now, if Hindi gets awarded special privilege along with annual extravagant celebration of Hindi Divas with much fanfare, how can all Indian languages get treated equally?
Yes, there lies nothing objectionable in practising/respecting Hindi; but Hindi-speakers should also similarly practise/respect Khasi, Oriya, Konkani, Urdu and all languages of the Union.
But amusingly in the name of “equal love towards all Indian languages” in lieu of “foreign” English, why one and only Hindi is awarded the primacy? It forms the democratic right of citizens of India to speak with each other in any language they deem fit — Gujarati or Nepali, English or Chinese. If usage of “language of India” gets so much stress, why only Hindi? Why not Kannada or Kokborok! After all, those languages also form an indispensable part of India.
It is high time it needs to be accepted that the Constitution has not declared Hindi as the “national language” and the division bench of Gujarat High Court consisting of Chief Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya and Justice AS Dave has categorically stated that there is no national language in India. Again the enlightened and Honorable High Court of Gujarat, comprising Justice VM Sahai and AJ Desai, has opined that Hindi is nothing but a foreign language for Gujaratis who were protesting against the National Highway Authority of India who had dared to issue a notification in Hindi only right on the soil of Gujarat. This directly proves that the indigenous languages in the non-Hindi speaking regions are superior in status than Hindi which is actually nothing but a mere regional language spoken in few North Indian states, but absolutely foreign outside it. Thus, those who zealously project Hindi as the “national language” are merely assaulting the very basis of the Constitution.
Instead of popularising Hindi in order to “unify” the country, Hindi-imposition should immediately be stopped in non-Hindi speaking regions and all-India scenarios to prevent the country from disintegration. Making Hindi the dominant language has resulted in a particular linguistic group getting an upper hand in all sectors and given its speakers an added advantage in the limited job market.
As far as English is concerned, not only is it the language of higher education or the window to reach out to the world, it is also the only language which can link and bind all regions of India. English is the only language which can enable an Assamese to appreciate Telugu literature, a Naga to connect with a Gujarati. English should be awarded the numero uno status as it is absolutely neutral whereby people of no particular state will be privileged, the way speakers of Hindi now are.
